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Movies / On DVD / House of Sand and Fog
House of Sand and Fog

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House of Sand and Fog (2003)

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Reviews Counted:166

Fresh:125

Rotten:41

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: Powerful and thought provoking film.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some violence/disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 19, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $12,924,917

Synopsis: Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction... Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her funk, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters threatening to evict her. After she is thrown out of the house she grew up in--wrongly, it turns out, so she seeks legal representation--Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) buys the property at auction with the goal of selling it at a huge profit so his family can live a better life. Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian army, is determined to make his family's move to the United States a successful one--nothing matters more to him than his wife and son's well-being. But when he sees Kathy sleeping in a car outside his fence, he knows he is in for a fight. Based on the book by Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman's directorial debut is a fascinating study of family in the United States. Kathy has no one to turn to--her father is dead, her husband has abandoned her, and she's too frightened to seek help from her mother or brother. She falls for Lester (Ron Eldard), a deputy sheriff who claims to no longer love his wife. And Behrani is so dedicated to his wife (Shohreh Aghidashloo in a riveting performance) and son (Jonahtan Ahdout) that he blinds himself to Kathy's dire situation. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a relentless, thought-provoking work that will linger with audiences long after the film ends. [More]

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Navi Rawat

Director: Vadim Perelman

Director: Vadim Perelman
Screenwriter: Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto
Producer: Michael London, Vadim Perelman
Composer: James Horner
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Mar 30, 2004

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Reviews for House of Sand and Fog

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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A lack of empathetic characters cripples this poorly paced but well acted drama about an Iranian family who purchase a city-auctioned bungalow in Northern California after its former tenant has been unjustly evicted.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment 1 Comment
05/09/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog" is one of the low points of the current movie season. But then it's meant to be.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/26/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The dramatic scheme is to show how two people ... intersect "tragically," but what we see is a group of characters who act as wrongheadedly and intransigently as imaginable.

Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
07/19/05
Alan Dale
Alan Dale
Blogcritics.org

An intense drama with a brilliant performance by Ben Kingsley.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
06/20/05
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

Partially successful.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
03/05/05
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic

House of Sand and Fog is an intense, thought- provoking movie experience

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/16/05
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews

... a movie about the perils of real estate speculation.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Perelman ... has a distinct and shadowy style that gives each scene an edge of menace, but he does not exploit style or draw attention to it.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

Who would think a fight over real estate would be so fascinating, so gut wrenching to watch?

Full Review Source: Kansas City Kansan | comment Comment
10/30/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

A pesar de los excesos del libreto, la película atrapa gracias a la notable dirección de Perelman, apoyada sobre todo en la impecable fotografía de Roger Deakins (...)

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
10/20/04
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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